St. Augustine Indian Mission opens doors of new $10M school in Winnebago, NE

WINNEBAGO, Neb. (KTIV) - After four years in the making, on Tuesday the St. Augustine Indian Mission opened the doors to a brand-new school. And it had a $10 million price tag.

Members of the Winnebago community came out to the new school on April 18 to celebrate the historic day and the future of learning.

“Probably one of the biggest days in our school’s history, we’ve existed for over 100 years and we’re dedicating a new school. It’s on the very spot St. Katherine Drexel built our first school in 1909 and it really sets our children up to have a great learning environment for the rest of their lives,” said Fr. Mark Beran, the St. Augustine Indian Mission director.

Tuesday was a chance to reflect on the past while working towards a brighter future.

“We’re here to serve two tribes to give them the education to really build a better future for their tribes, and for their families and for all their people going forward,” said Fr. Beran

Serving students from the Omaha and Winnebago tribes, the school will house kindergarten through 8th-grade students.

The dedication featured several speakers sharing how the new school will help further Catholic education while incorporating Native American culture.

“We really have our identity in two things, one is our Catholic faith, and the second thing is the Native American culture of the tribes that we serve, so we’ll have both Native American blessings and prayers here along with Catholic blessings,” said Fr. Beran

The school will open its doors to educate students beginning in fall 2023 and will serve more than 100 kindergarten through eighth-grade students.

School leaders said the mission is supervised under the Archdiocese of Omaha.

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